Pairs of Cars: A Collection of Short Stories
by MaterLisa
Summary: Mad about Malley? Hoping for Hollesco? Thinking about Tially? Now is your chance to see the pairings you want to read about! Just post a request in the comments or vote on my blog, and I'll write a romantic or friendly pairing for those characters. Look inside for details!
1. Chapter 1

Pairs of Cars: A Collection of Shorts Stories

Once upon a time, there was an author on called MaterLisa. She was a big fan of Disney Pixar's "Cars" franchise, especially "Cars 2." She had hoped to write stories about them for many years.

One day, MaterLisa decided to make a collection of short stories. Each one would focus on the relationship between two cars – either a romantic relationship, or just a friendship. She had a list of possible pairings below, or people could vote on a blog on her profile:

**Jeff Gorvette and Sally Carrera**

**Jeff Gorvette and Lewis Hamilton**

**Lewis Hamilton and Sally Carrera**

**Rip Clutchgoneski and Carla Veloso**

**Shu Todoroki and Carla Veloso**

**Shu Todoroki and Okuni**

**Francesco Bernoulli and Sally Carrera**

**Francesco Bernoulli and Holley Shiftwell**

**Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell**

**Finn McMissile and Sally Carrera**

**Finn McMissile and Lizzie**

**Finn McMissile and Lightning McQueen**

**Finn McMissile and Tow Mater**

**Finn McMissile and Leland Turbo**

**Tomber and Finn McMissile**

**Tomber and Holley Shiftwell**

**Siddeley and Finn McMissile**

**Siddeley and Holley Shiftwell**

**Siddeley and Tow Mater**

**Siddeley and Leland Turbo**

**Leland Turbo and Holley Shiftwell**

**Professor Z and Holley Shiftwell**

**Professor Z and Miles Axlerod**

**Acer and Holley Shiftwell**

**Grem and Holley Shiftwell**

**Acer and Sally Carrera**

**Grem and Sally Carrera**

**Acer and Grem**

**Sally Carrera and Holley Shiftwell**

**Sally Carrera and Flo**

**Sally Carrera and Carla Veloso**

**Sally Carrera and Mia/Tia**

**Sally Carrera and Red**

**Holley Shiftwell and Flo**

**Holley Shiftwell and Carla Veloso**

**Holley Shiftwell and Red**

**Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater**

**Lightning McQueen and Francesco Bernoulli**

**Lightning McQueen and Sally Carrera**

**Lightning McQueen and Lizzie**

**Lightning McQueen and Holley Shiftwell**

**Lightning McQueen and Mia/Tia**

**Lightning McQueen and Carla Veloso**

**Lightning McQueen and Flo**

**Tow Mater and Emma**

**Tow Mater and Doreen**

**Tow Mater and Mia/Tia**

**Tow Mater and Holley Shiftwell**

**Tow Mater and Sally Carrera**

**Tow Mater and Carla Veloso**

**Tow Mater and Flo**

**Doc Hudson and Lizzie**

**Doc Hudson and Sally Carrera**

**Doc Hudson and Sheriff**

**Doc Hudson and Mater**

**Sheriff and Sally Carrera**

**Ramone and Flo**

**Ramone and Sally Carrera**

**Ramone and Holley Shiftwell**

**Luigi and Guido**

**Luigi and Franca**

**Luigi and Francesco Bernoulli**

**Guido and Francesca**

**Guido and Francesco Bernoulli**

**Guido and Holley Shiftwell**

**Sarge and Fillmore**

**Stanley and Lizzie**

**Boost/DJ/Snot Rod/Wingo and Lightning McQueen**

**Boost/DJ/Snot Rod/Wingo and Mia/Tia**

**Boost/DJ/Snot Rod/Wingo and Sally Carrera**

**Boost/DJ/Snot Rod/Wingo and Holley Shiftwell**

**Boost/DJ/Snot Rod/Wingo and Red**

**Boost/DJ/Snot Rod/Wingo and Acer/Grem**

**Boost/DJ/Snot Rod/Wingo and Chick Hicks**

**Chick Hicks and Sally Carrera**

**Chick Hicks and Holley Shiftwell**

**Chick Hicks and Lightning McQueen**

**Chick Hicks and Tow Mater**

**Chick Hicks and Acer/Grem**

**Chick Hicks and Francesco Bernoulli**

MaterLisa was also willing to include OCs (such as the characters' children). Perhaps there were people on who wanted to have themselves or their own OCs in a pairing?

Which relationships should MaterLisa write about first? What would they be called? SalQueen? Malley? Finnbo?

You decide!


	2. Malley: Ghost Truck

**Author's Note: Friday night is film night in my house. Some time ago, I chose the film "Ghost," which is the inspiration for this story. It may be sad in places, but I want to have some romance between Mater and Holley too. I hope you like it. Sorry for the long wait. **

Malley: Ghost Truck

The voice on the other end of the radio was high-pitched and weary.

"Listen, here's what happened. My husband and I were supposed to be driving to the Grand Canyon, but then the genius said his GPS knew a shortcut that wasn't on our paper map. So we drove for a long time off-road, and I wanted to stop for fuel, but the moron kept going-"

"Come on, Minny," a man butted in, "I have a name, you know! It's Van!"

"Shush, dear, I'm on the radio," hissed the woman. "Anyway, we're stuck in the desert with no fuel and we need a tow into town. Can you help?"

"Of course. I'll be right there."

. . .

Flying came naturally to Holley Shiftwell. All she had to do was pop out her wings and she was ready for take-off. But when Holley flew, she would always feel a sense of wonder at the freedom she had. She could go up or down, turn left or right – it was her choice. Every experience in the air was slightly different, but never boring. No wonder Mater had taken to flying like an aquaplane to water. He was always seeking a new adventure.

_Mater. . . _

_No, Holley. Don't think about him. This isn't personal; it's business. _

The Jaguar focused on the ground below. To her right and left were dusty cliffs, and golden sand stretched out before her. The heat of the sun, combined with radiation from the silica below, would have been stifling for someone who hadn't lived in Arizona for two years as Holley had done. As it was, Holley welcomed the heat.

It meant she could feel something.

At last she spied the two cars she was looking for, and swooped in low. Both were Chauncey motors, one pink and one green. When Minny, the pink car, spotted Holley landing, she gasped happily. "Here she is," she sighed, "our guardian angel!"

Holley chuckled. "I wouldn't call myself an angel as such. But still, I'm here now."

Driving to a space just behind the two cars, Holley grabbed their bumpers with her grappling hooks. "I must warn you, we're going to be very high up-"

"Who cares?" grumbled Van. "I just want some fuel!"

"Well, maybe if you'd listened to me," Minny snapped, "we could be in a nice little café, sipping oil without a care in the world-"

Holley couldn't listen to this. She launched herself into the air, not concerned by the quick screams behind her. Pretty soon, she was back where she belonged – with her hood in the clouds, and two frightened and exhilarated cars in tow.

. . .

Back in Radiator Springs, Van and Minny were sitting under the shade of Flo's V8 Café, drinking from the same can of Dinoco. Holley had watched them get through lots of cans by now; this was their eighth. _Gas-guzzlers,_ she thought. _If they weren't my customers, I wouldn't still be watching. _

Minny looked up from her drink long enough to see that Holley was still there. "We can't thank you enough," she gushed. "I know you must get this all the time – I mean, it's your job – but if it wasn't for you, I don't know what we'd be doing right now."

"Bickering, probably," said Van.

Minny kicked Van with her tyre, frowning and smiling at the same time. Immediately Holley was struck with the image of a happily-married couple, a couple who sometimes bickered and always loved each other. It was the kind of thing that Holley hadn't experienced yet.

Maybe she never would.

"You've still got that dent, haven't you?" asked Van suddenly.

Holley glanced to her side. A deep crinkle was embedded in her body work. "Yes, it's still there."

"From when you swooped in to save your boyfriend?" Van teased.

Minny giggled. "Van, please!"

Holley felt something like sadness rise in her mouth, but she swallowed and forced it down. "That's right," she said quietly. "Well, enjoy your meal. I have some paperwork to take care of."

She turned, ignoring Minny's friendly goodbyes, and trundled back to the scrap yard. Yes, that was her home now – piles of metal and other junk, surrounded by a measly wooden fence. Instead of a house, there was a large, rickety shack. Instead of a grand archway, two poles held up the silhouette of a winged tow truck, emblazoned with the words: "Tow Mater's Aerodynamic Towing and Salvage."

Mater wasn't there.

. . .

The closest thing Holley had to being with Mater was visiting his statue, which she did that night, after the rest of the town had gone to sleep. Mater's statue had been placed next to that of Stanley, the town's founder, about a month after the incident. Beneath the bronze tow truck was carved a single phrase into the metallic plaque: "Dad-Gum!"

A fitting epitaph.

The neon lights advertising Radiator Springs' assorted businesses had long been turned off. Only the broken traffic light was still illuminating the town, the amber light blinking on and off, on and off, on . . . and off. . . Holley noticed that every third blink was slower. With every blink, some light bounced off her engagement ring on her left side mirror. The ring contained a once-beautiful diamond, now turning a garish orange in the unforgiving light.

Holley sighed and tried to focus on the statue. Her eyes ran over every single detail – the wonky wing mirrors, the lack of a bonnet, the gaping hole where his headlight should have been. She finally came to rest on his buck teeth, so big a plane could have landed on them. He was giving a goofy grin to no-one in particular.

_When did I last smile like that?_

Holley's mind wandered back to the last night of his life. There had been a karaoke night at Flo's V8 Café, and she had performed a duet with her boyfriend. That was the night when he proposed. That was the night when the Lemons showed up. That was the nightmare.

"_You like potato . . ._" Holley whispered now.

She paused. No-one else joined in.

"_You like Tow Mater . . ._" she continued.

The statue looked down on her and said nothing.

"_Potato . . ._"

Mater was still smiling.

"_Tow Mater . . ._"

Holley bit her lip, and then finished:

"_Let's call the whole thing off . . ._"

She broke down. Thick tears slid down her fenders. Her body shuddered with sobs. She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them with a gasp. It was no use. She had too much sadness in her. It had to come out, or she would go mad. Perhaps she had gone mad. Singing to a statue. . . Holley sobbed, louder this time. She didn't care if she woke anyone. She was past caring.

"What's wrong?"

The sudden voice made Holley jump. She swung round to see –

"A ghost!"

Mater's eyes widened. "Huh? Where?" He caught a glimpse of himself in the plaque and screamed. "Aah! A ghost!"

"Mater, _you're_ the ghost!" Holley panted fearfully.

Mater chuckled. "Ah know Ah'm a ghost, Ah'm jes' yankin' yer chain!" To prove it, he quickly reversed through the statue and sped around the town, driving through any obstacles in his path and whooping with crazy joy. When he finally reappeared in front of Holley, she just stared at him.

Her fiancé was here again. She couldn't believe it.

"Where have you _been_?" she asked at last.

"Well, first Ah done gone lookin' fur Grem n' Acer – ya know, dem Lemons what done killed me-"

He stopped looking at Holley at this point and stared into the distance. "Ah found 'em on an oil rig, and Ah said, 'Hey, it's me, the one you done killed!' And they kinda freaked out and drove inta the sea."

Holley frowned. "Was that the reaction you intended?"

Mater shook his hood. "No, Ah was gonna make 'em apologise and tell 'em tuh stay away from mah girlfriend. But hey, they ain't gonna bother us now."

"Us?" Holley was confused. "What are we, exactly?"

Mater had no reply. He stared at the ground and scraped his tyre across the sand.

"I mean, marriage is out of the question now," Holley continued, glancing at her engagement ring. "You're dead."

Mater looked Holley in the eyes. Holley had forgotten how beautiful his eyes were. They were green, just like her own, but while her eyes had been compared to emeralds, Mater's eyes were more the colour of yellowing grass. Even so, Holley lost herself in those eyes every time.

"Who knows what we're gonna do?" Mater asked. "Let's jes' see how it goes. We don' have tuh plan ev'rything."

"Maybe not."

Holley bit her lip before continuing, "Can I kiss you?"

"Uh . . . I dunno," Mater replied dumbly. "Ah've never tried it."

"I should hope not!" Holley said.

The couple laughed together. When they stopped, they gazed at each other for a few more seconds. Mater closed his eyes. So did Holley. She leaned in, hoping to feel his lips . . .

. . . and she was struck with a very strange sensation. Mater's dead body was cold against her lips. But beneath that, she could feel his presence, the memories they'd shared, the warmth of his very self. After a year without him, it was a pleasant oxymoron.

Finally, they pulled apart. Holley grinned.

"_You like potato,_" she sang.

"_And you like potahto,_" Mater joined in.

"_You like Tow Mater,_"

"_And you like tomato,_"

"_Potato,_"

"_Potahto,_"

"_Tow Mater,_"

"_Tomato,_"

"_Let's call the whole thing off!_" they sang together.

"_But oh! If we call the whole thing off,_

_Then we must part,_

_And oh! If we ever part,_

_Then that might break my heart!_"

Holley didn't care if anyone in the town heard her singing with a ghost. She had Mater. Mater had her. That was all she needed for now.

"_For we know we need each other,_

_So we better call the calling off off – _

_Let's call the whole thing off!_"


End file.
